As the country grapples with the death of George Floyd at the hands of four since-fired Minneapolis police officers, and the fiery protests that have followed, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has released a letter to the community.
Wilson said that a “culture of white supremacy” is present in Alexandria, and that the current coronavirus pandemic has exposed how residents of color have high infection rates.
Sen. Kaine and Wife Anne Holton Test Positive for Coronavirus Antibodies — “After testing positive for the flu earlier in the year, the state’s junior senator said in a statement he experienced new symptoms in late March. He initially thought the symptoms were flu remnants and a reaction to a high pollen count. But when his wife developed fever and chills, then congestion and a cough, they went to health providers in early April.” [Patch]
Police Chase Ends With Suspect Falling 25 Feet Off Beltway — “A man behind the wheel of what Virginia State Police thought was a stolen Ford Expedition rammed two police vehicles on the Capital Beltway, lost control, slammed into a Jersey Wall and then ran across the interstate, jumped over another wall and fell 25 feet Wednesday night.” [WTOP]
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a robbery at gunpoint that occurred last night in the 5400 block of Richenbacher Avenue in the city’s West End.
The victim, a male in his 30s, was waiting in a parking lot at around 8:30 p.m. to buy an electronics item from an individual he met online. When the seller arrived, he pointed a handgun at the victim and took $400 in cash, according to Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine.
‘Good. Works. Alexandria’ Giving Event is Today — “Alexandria’s stores and restaurants will give a percentage of their sales to the charities of the customers’ choice. For every lunch or dinner ordered OR purchase made, we will share those profits with clientele’s charity of choice located on the Spring2ACTion website.” [Old Town Business Association]
Here’s What Services Will Open Under Phase 1 — “As the region proceeds through the reopening phases the Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities, City of Alexandria, VA has released the schedule of how recreation services, facilities and programs will be restored.” [Facebook]
Alexandria Police are investigating a report of shots fired in a residential area in the city’s West End on the early morning Sunday, May 24.
Police announced the incident at 2:16 a.m. via Twitter, and arrived at the 100 block of Ellsworth Street to find a number of spent shell casings from a handgun, Alexandria Police spokesman Lt. Courtney Ballantine told ALXnow.
Beyer Co-Sponsors COVID-19 Testing Legislation — “NEW: today I introduced bipartisan legislation to boost innovation for COVID-19 testing with my @HouseScience colleague @RepAGonzalez.” [Twitter]
Chamber of Commerce Hosting Virtual General Assembly Breakfast Thursday — “Please join us on May 21st for a timely virtual conversation with our General Assembly delegation. The delegation will discuss the 2020 session, Virginia’s COVID-19 response and the challenges currently facing the Commonwealth.” [Chamber of Commerce]
(Updated on May 21 at 2:30 p.m.) A majority of the Alexandria City Council wants to know more about a month-long police teleworking initiative during the pandemic, and one member wants to see a full internal report.
Between April 6 and May 2, the Alexandria Police Department reduced its enlarged patrol presence (with added school resource officers, K-9 officers, traffic safety section officers and community relations officers), and on any given day had one-third of assigned patrol officers (18-24 officers) teleworking at home.
A 53-year-old Alexandria man was arrested today on charges of producing and distributing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Abel Ambrocio was arrested for allegedly instructing an adult woman on Facebook to send him more than 100 pictures of the woman sexually exploiting a three-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. He then allegedly sent the photos to another person, and the activities occurred over the course of several months, according to court documents.
(Updated at 11:30 p.m.) The missing man has been found, Alexandria police say.
The Alexandria Police Department are looking for a missing 67-year-old man who was last seen in the area of Sanger Avenue and Essex Court in the city’s West End.
(Updated on May 16 at 12:00 p.m.) The director of Feed the Fight Alexandria was picking up 300 cupcakes from Alexandria Cupcake to donate to three Inova hospitals on May 6, when she found an unexpected surprise waiting on her windshield — a $40 parking ticket.
The ticket was later paid for by an Alexandria Police officer.
(Updated on May 15 at 10:45 a.m.) — Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks and Police Chief Michael Brown have declined to comment on this developing story, according to city spokesman Craig Fifer.
City Manager Mark Jinks on Tuesday said that Alexandria Police ended their “significant” monthlong teleworking initiative and that police were isolated and made available to respond to a “much worse situation” should the peak of cases not flatten.
